Garden Planner, June 22

Jun. 21, 2013

Written by

Stephanie Bruner

Special to the Register

This week

• It’s not too late to plant annuals — just pinch them back if they’re lanky and leggy. Be sure to tease the roots apart (or just use your pruners to snip the root balls in half) before you plant them, as they’re probably pretty root-bound by now.

• Raise the blades on your lawnmower to 3 inches high now that the weather is warming up and the rate of lawn growth is slowing down.

This month

• Want to neaten up your spireas when they’re done blooming? The low-growing pink-flowered kind (Spiraea japonica hybrids) are easy to prune — as soon as the flowers are spent, gather up the entire plant into a “ponytail” and snip back the top 6 to 8 inches. Then let the plant fall back into place. (For smaller plants, you can gather up the stems with one hand and cut with the other. For larger plants, you may need to use a loop of twine to gather the stems.) For bridal wreath spirea, it’s better to prune out individual stems at the ground. The plants are meant to have a draping, cascading shape, and shearing them destroys the natural shape.

• Speaking of pruning shrubs, if you’re looking to fill in spaces in your garden, be sure to check the mature height and width before you plant. It’s always best to choose a plant that will fit into the spot with minimal pruning, instead of picking something just because you like the flowers (or foliage) and then realizing you’ll have to do massive pruning every year to keep it in bounds.

• Be sure to mulch around new trees and shrubs — nicking the trunk repeatedly with a mower or string trimmer can open the plant up to disease. And if the trunk is small enough or the damage is severe enough, it can even girdle the plant and kill it. When you do mulch, don’t pile it up against the trunk (or lower stems of shrubs). Leave several inches of clear space around the trunk, then spread mulch out at least 12 to 18 inches away from the base of the plant.

• Tuck in some new basil plants — they’ll be big enough to supply you with fresh basil when the ones you planted earlier in the spring have developed woody stems and started to set seed.

Stephanie Bruner is a freelance writer from Des Moines who has a degree in horticulture.